Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1% on Analyst Downgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares fell 1% on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $44.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as low as $38.90 and last traded at $38.95. 38,404,000 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 32,072,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.36.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on VZ. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.25.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory clearances allow Verizon to complete its Frontier acquisition, meaning Verizon will add roughly 30 million fiber passings and expanded cross‑sell opportunities that support longer‑term broadband/enterprise revenue growth. The companies expect to close the transaction on Jan. 20, 2026. GlobeNewswire: Regulatory Approvals
• Neutral Sentiment: A Pentagon contract awarded to AST SpaceMobile pushed that supplier’s stock higher; AST lists Verizon as a commercial partner. The news is an indirect positive for Verizon’s ecosystem (additional connectivity options and vendor momentum) but is not an immediate revenue driver for VZ. MarketBeat: AST SpaceMobile Pentagon Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon suffered a widespread multi‑hour wireless outage that affected hundreds of thousands of customers; the company is issuing a $20 credit to impacted customers. The outage raises short‑term customer satisfaction and regulatory‑risk concerns and has generated negative media and political attention. Reuters: Verizon offers $20 credit after outage
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed their price target from $46 to $44 and kept a “market perform” rating, signaling muted upside in consensus models and contributing to downward pressure on the stock. TickerReport / Benzinga: Bernstein cuts price target

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Cadinha & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,046,000 after purchasing an additional 336,190 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $309,551,000 after purchasing an additional 722,559 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 378.7% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,120,000 after buying an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 555,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $24,427,000 after buying an additional 43,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 2,762,705 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $121,421,000 after buying an additional 151,100 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $164.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.54 and a 200 day moving average of $41.81.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.